Christmas Activities with Kids: Ages 6 and 8

It’s Christmastime! My boys are so excited. It’s time to think about our ideas for the best Christmas activities with kids.

When I was pregnant with Henry, I sewed a fabric advent calendar and wrote activity ideas on cards. Now that the boys are 6 and 8, it feels like it’s time for a little update! Here’s what I’m planning for this year. The boys will get to pick one activity a day leading up to Christmas:

Christmas Activities with Kids

1. Carve handmade holiday stamps out of rubber and make gift-tags using stamps
2. Cut down an evergreen tree (or buy a potted one and plant it after Christmas); decorate the tree and our house
3. Go ice-skating
4. Go shopping to buy gifts for a foster child
5. Make baked goods for colleagues and neighbors
6. Deliver baked goods and notes to our neighbors
7. Read a holiday book and drink hot chocolate on the big bed
8. Read a holiday book and drink egg nog on the big bed
9. Make root-beer floats and watch a holiday movie on the big bed
10. Drive to the house with the Christmas lights synched to a radio station: 1912 Crystal Shores
11. Make giant snowflakes
12. Collect branches and pine cones and spray paint them for decoration
13. Play hot potato while listening to holiday music
14. Cover the house in candles, eat dinner by candlelight, make a list of what we’re thankful for
15. Go out to dinner and stop by the light show at Mozart’s Cafe
16. Visit a Christmas parade in a small Texas town
17. Go to a holiday party
18. Make gingerbread houses
19. Make a paper chain to count down to Christmas
20. Build a fort in our room and have a slumber party
21. Invite friends over for fondue and to play Noel Games
22. Make ornaments to give to classmates
23. Have an indoor snowball fight
24. Sit around a fire, make S’mores, and sing carols

Here’s a list of the supplies that go with the above activities:

Supply List

1. Soft rubber for stamps
2. Stamp-making tools
3. Stamp pads
4. Cardstock
5. Ribbon or twine
6. Supplies for baked goods
7. Something to wrap up baked goods
8. Hot chocolate
9. Whipping cream (for homemade whipped cream)
10. Powered sugar (for homemade whipped cream)
11. A holiday movie
12. Spray paint
13. Holiday music
14. Holiday books
15. Graham crackers (for gingerbread house and S’mores)
16. Frosting for gingerbread house
17. Candy for gingerbread houses
18. Single-serving milk containers for gingerbread houses
19. Tea candles
20. Egg nog
21. Vanilla ice-cream
22. Root beer
23. Presents for Noel Games
24. Cheese fondue
25. Christmas crackers
26. Marshmallows
27. Chocolate bars
28. Ornaments
29. Old crayons
30. Spray paint

I get giddy thinking about doing these things with my boys. The trick to keeping it stress-free is to gather the supplies all at once so everything is on hand when we need it. That way, whatever activity they pick, we’ll be prepared!